Black Magic
by xBlack Magic 3x
Summary: For evil to exist in this world, all that it takes is for the good men and women of fair Mexico to bide their silence. Luckily, the reign is over and Black Magic has just found it's voice. But how?
1. The Beginning

This is a round-robin type collaboration between myself and two of my best friends. We're big fans of the movie and wanted to write a fiction regarding it. We're fairly new to the site and this is our first story. We're not American, so please don't complain about spelling or geography. We hope you all enjoy it as much as we enjoy writing it. Please drop us a review and let us know your thoughts on the first chapter.

xox Danielle

* * *

TAKING THE PLUNGE

**Chapter One by Danielle**

"Hey, Vincent, you ready to get your ass up out of bed?" Sara - Vince's young and voluptuous nurse - questioned as she wandered into his hospital room pushing a wheelchair.

"God yes!" Vince exclaimed from where he sat fully clothed on his bed, making Letty and the nurse laugh. "This place gives me the shits."

"Well, now you can go home and get a whole new type of shits," Sara retorted.

"You're probably right," Vince laughed, earning himself a playful scowl from Letty. The nurse then patted the wheelchair seat, which made Vince groan. Letty and the nurse simply laughed as Vince slowly dragged himself off the bed, a hand supporting his side where the gunshot left him still feeling a little tender. Collapsing down in the chair, he looked behind him up at Sara. "Tell me Sare, why is it hospitals insist on discharging people in wheelchairs?"

"Because if we don't dump you right outside the door ourselves, you could sue us if something happened," Sara replied as she began to wheel Vince out of his room, Letty following behind with Vince's bag in hand. "And we barely have enough money as it is; damn government don't give us enough funding."

"Okay, fair enough," Vince answered. Once downstairs, Letty guided Sara over to where her car sat parked near the main entrance.

"You're taking scruffy here home in that?" Sara squealed, staring at Letty's car like it was poison.

"Yeah, so what?" Letty snapped.

"Nothing," Sara sighed. "You just make sure you look after Vincent."

"Don't worry, he'll be fine," Letty said before she unlocked her car and climbed in, throwing Vince's bag in the back.

"I don't think she likes me very much," Sara announced as Vince stood up.

"Ah, don't worry 'bout her, she's always like that," Vince replied.

"Well, you take care of yourself now, Vincent."

"Will do."

Sara then turned and wandered off with the wheelchair, leaving Vince staring after her.

"Get in the car, V," Letty stated.

Vince climbed in slowly. "You weren't very nice to Sare, Letty," Vince teased.

"She's all boob anyway. Her brains are probably in her ass."

"Let, she's the one who's been taken care of me. If you think about it, without her, you might not have me."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"You'll keep," Vince growled as Letty laughed and pulled out of her parking space.

"How's it feel to be going home?" Letty asked, playfully punching Vince's shoulder.

"Weird," Vince answered, toying with the bandage that was still around his right arm.

"Weird how?"

"Things aren't the same anymore Let. There's no Dom, no Jesse, no team."

"Ya still got us."

"Yeah, but it's not the same."

Letty glanced at the sadness in Vince's eyes and sighed. "I know exactly what you mean."

The pair drove in silence for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts. The easygoing relationship they once had seemed strained. It was like they were strangers. They were forever finding themselves unable to think of things to say, and they all seemed to find themselves spending a lot more time on their own. Their self-made family had vanished into thin air.

"So, ah, how are you?" Vince inquired; restarting the conversation with the closest thing to a best friend he had left.

"I'm good," Letty replied. "I had a check up the other day; doc says my ribs are well healed."

"I'm not talking 'bout your broken bones, Let. I'm talkin' 'bout up here." Vince pointed to his head.

"Oh, okay. Mia, she gets a little teary over Brian and Dom every now and then, and I get a little crazy about Dom, but we're keeping it together."

"What about Leon? He didn't come to see me even once in hospital."

"He – he's changed, V," Letty began seriously, hurt present in her voice. "You wouldn't even recognise the guy anymore. He spends most of his time locked away in his room, and will barely even talk to us. We've gotta knock on his bedroom door and hear him tell us to get lost just to be assured he's still alive. He's – he's just so bitter about everything, V."

"It's been over a month since the shit hit the fan," Vince pointed out.

"I know, and Leon's only gotten worse. Just the other day, Mia went to start cleaning out Jesse's room and Le went completely off his brain at her. So a word of warning would be to stay out of Jesse's room."

"Where's Jesse's Jetta."

"Leon locked it in the shed. I wouldn't go in there either."

"What about Dom's Charger."

"Found it at the wreckers last week. Mia just told me to leave it there. She's a little angry about the whole car situation. I think she'd be happy if we never went to a race again."

"Why would she think like that?"

"Cars were what got us into trouble, V."

They remained quiet the rest of the trip home, Vince turning up the radio to try and drown out his thoughts. Things shouldn't have been the way they were. Vince shouldn't have been in hospital, Jesse shouldn't be dead and Dom shouldn't have had to run away, and yet, that's how things were. They all needed to finally face up to that.

As Letty drove into the driveway, Vince felt an eerie sort of feeling slither up his spine. There was something oddly different about the house. It was still the same old Toretto house that had been sitting there for years, only now it looked ghostly. There was no love and happiness oozing from the edges – both things necessary to create a home. The house was just that now: a house.

Mia had tried her best to keep the front yard tidy, but the now sepia coloured grass was beginning to appear overgrown and what flowers they once had were now dead. Mia and Vince's cars sat unused in the driveway, while Leon's Skyline looked dirty, something that never happened. Leon had always prided himself on have a respectable looking car. Calling going home weird was an understatement.

"You coming V?" Letty questioned, snapping Vince out of his daze. The radio had long been turned off and Letty now stood on his side of the car with his door open, his bag in her hands.

"Ah – yeah," Vince said as he unclipped his seatbelt and climbed out, starting up to the house as Letty closed his door and locked up her car. Lingering at the front door for a long moment, unsure of what he'd witness inside, he finally threw the door open and marched in just to find Mia in tears.

"Leon, come on," she was pleading through her sobs as she pounded on Leon's bedroom door. "Come out and get something to eat. You're going to waste away if you just stay in there."

"I told you Mia, I'm not hungry!" Leon bellowed in reply. "I just want you to leave me the fuck alone!"

Letty wandered in behind Vince and dropped his bag to the floor, listening as Mia began slamming kitchen cupboard doors on purpose while she continued to cry.

"Damn, I didn't know Leon had a grumpy side," Vince stated. "Talk about moody."

"That's what he's been like since Jesse's cremation," Letty explained. "All he does is yell at us and demand us to leave him alone. If he's not locked in his room, he's out at all times of the night driving like a reckless fool in his Skyline. He's going to kill himself one day."

"He sure upset Mia."

"He does that a lot." Letty then stalked off for the kitchen. Vince followed behind slowly and found Mia sobbing on Letty's shoulders. Letty whispered something in Mia's ear and the Italian woman's head snapped up, her eyes falling on Vince. She rushed forward, throwing herself at Vince. Had she done something like that a few months earlier, he would have thought she was feeling for him what he was sure he felt for her. Now, all he wanted to do was protect her.

With her arms clasped tightly around his neck and her face buried in his neck, Vince wrapped his own arms around her unusually cold body and stroked her hair. After a few minutes, Mia's sobs stopped and she pulled away, brushing tears from her eyes. Letty handed Mia a tissue, which Mia took greedily.

"You doing okay now Mi?" Letty asked softly as she put an arm around her best friends shoulders.

"I don't know what to do about Leon any more," Mia sighed, looking up at Vince desperately. "Maybe you can talk to him."

"By the sound of things," Vince began. "Leon's not going to listen to anyone. I think all he needs is time."

"He's going to be okay though, isn't he?" Mia questioned.

"Eventually," Vince assured. "Now, how about you go upstairs and freshen yourself up while Let and I order some Chinese for lunch. You deserve a break from cooking."

Mia smiled as she wandered weakly out of the kitchen; Vince pulling a Chinese menu out of one of the drawers. Sitting up on the kitchen bench, he began analysing a selection he knew by heart just to stop himself from thinking about how upset Mia was.

"V, we gotta do something," Letty announced.

"Like what?" Vince retorted, looking up from the menu.

"I don't know, get out of his house maybe. I mean, being here is just driving Leon further into his depression and there's only so many memories in this house that even I can take. We need to get away and find ourselves again."

"Where would we go and with what?"

"Well we have all that money so we may as well use it. Where to, I don't know, Mexico perhaps."

"Why Mexico?"

Letty sighed. "When we picked up the Civics before that last heist, Dom said we were going to take a holiday…"

"I remember that."

"Well, he told me to imagine us being on a beach in Mexico, so we should just do that anyway. We deserve that holiday. Who knows, Dom could have gone there. Maybe we'll find him."

"If after numerous attempts at calling his cell hasn't worked, I'm sure us going to Mexico won't make him appear."

"Well, then, lets do it for us," Letty declared, an excited sort of smile on her face. "Do it for Jesse. He wouldn't want us moping around here. Imagine it, us on a deserted beach in Mexico."

"Sounds good," Vince laughed.

"Then lets go. Dom can't be having all the fun."

"But how are we going to get Leon out of the house?"

"I have no idea," Letty said as a smile crept across her face. "But I have faith in you figuring something out."

* * *

Later that day, Vince, Mia and Letty sat in silence around the television eating out of white cardboard Chinese containers. Letty and Vince had put the idea to Mia, who had agreed getting away from Los Angeles was a good idea. She too, however, had the same concerns Vince had about getting Leon out of the house, but had unanimously sided with Letty, claiming Vince would be able to think something.

Vince had no idea what was on TV – for all he knew it could have been some girly b-grade soap opera – and was finding the noise made it hard for him to concentrate on coming up with a plan. He figured women were the last thing on Leon's mind, so using them as a reason wouldn't work. It was also apparent that cars wouldn't do the trick either. He seemed to only use his Skyline as a kamikaze escape. He didn't think visiting Jesse's dad in jail would even be enough of an incentive for Leon to leave.

Vince had pretty much agreed with himself that the only way they were going to get Leon out of the house was to drug him, bind and gag him, shove him into one of their cars and just drive. They'd have to deal with his unpredictable nature once in Mexico, but the fact that he was out of the house was all that really mattered. From there healing was as simple as ABC.

"How's the moo-shoo?" Leon asked monotonously from where he stood to the lounge room's entrance. Mia, Letty and Vince all snapped their attention towards him, noticing almost immediately just how pale and thin he looked. His eyes were downcast, a dull sort of glaze over them and he seemed to shuffle places rather than actually pick his feet up. The small amount of scruffy facial hair he normally sported hadn't been shaved in so long it was beginning to look like an overgrown mass attached to his face. It was like he couldn't be bothered to do anything.

"It's good," Mia answered, a smile on her face in a desperate plea to allow her to help him. "Would you like some? There's some more in the fridge."

"No," he answered quickly. "I just came to remind you that you have to be up early in the morning."

"Up early for what?" Vince inquired.

"For the spreading of Jesse's ashes," Leon replied in a tone that implied he thought Vince was rather dense.

"Oh."

As Leon turned to leave, Vince decided in a matter of micro seconds that he was just going to ask Leon outright whether he wanted to take a trip to Mexico or not. Once he had an idea of where Leon stood, then he could decide what course of action needed to be taken.

"Hey Leon," Vince stated, attracting Leon's attention. "What do you think of the idea of us all taking a trip to Mexico?"

Leon looked at Vince blankly. "What for?"

"I don't know, to get away from here for awhile to put some things into perspective." Vince couldn't believe the bullshit that was coming out of his mouth, but Leon seemed to listening, so he decided he could handle the bullshit if it meant he was getting somewhere. "I mean, imagine us four in a budget hotel near a deserted beach. Could be fun."

"When are you going?" Leon asked.

"Not sure," Vince replied.

"But Let and I were going to do some ringing around after lunch," Mia pointed out. "I s'pose the earliest we could leave is tomorrow."

"Whatever," Leon muttered as he turned to leave again.

"Whatever what?" Letty retorted.

"Just whatever," Leon mumbled. "I'll pack a bag and when you make up your mind, then, whatever." He then shuffled back down to the basement, closing his door quite a bit more respectably than how he had been. The three of them sat staring where Leon had once stood feeling stunned. It had been way too easy to convince Leon to take a trip to Mexico. They weren't sure if he was for real or if there was a catch. Either way, they were sure that the real Leon was finally on the comeback.

"Well," Vince began, sounding overly proud of himself. "That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be." He then turned and looked at the girls, who simply beamed. Things were looking up.

* * *

Leon had made the effort to shave, so all he was left with was his normal five o'clock shadow. His hair was washed and brushed under one of Jesse's beanies he had pulled down almost over his eyes and on his feet were a new pair of sneakers he'd bought impulsively while out of one of his kamikaze drives. To try and add a touch of class, he had found a black dress jacket in the back of his closet that he'd pulled on over his jeans and singlets.

Vince wore something similar, while Mia had put on a black dress with a pair of casual sandals, and Letty had donned a black pair of pants and a red blouse, the only thing she owned that resembled feminine semi-formal wear.

They all stood on a deserted selection of beach just after sunrise. Leon stood near the waters edge, his hands clasped tightly around an elaborately decorated urn. Vince, Letty and Mia lingered behind him, the girls snuggled up close to either side of Vince, his arms round their waists in a protective manner. There was a strong early morning breeze that whipped Letty and Mia's loose hair about, the girls finding it hard to keep their hair tucked behind their ears. All of them had solemn expressions on their faces and pools of unshed tears resting in their eyes.

"Jesse was more than just a best friend to me," Leon announced over the waves crashing upon the sand. "He was my brother. He helped me out after I ran away from home and brought something into my life I'd never had before." He then lowered his eyes as he brushed away the tears that threatened to fall. Without turning, he then addressed the team. "You guys wanna say something?"

Mia, Letty and Vince all exchanged glances.

"He was one smart kid," Vince began, letting out a small laugh. "He always put me to complete shame. There were things he just knew that I wouldn't have believed existed if it weren't for him. He definitely was the mad scientist." Everyone shared a laugh and big smiles remained on their faces at the thought of their much-treasured friend.

"He had this innocence and positivity about him that made me look at things differently," Mia continued.

"And he always knew how to put a smile on my face or make me laugh," Letty added. "I'm going to miss the way his hyperactive presence just shined."

"He certainly had an incredible way with cars," Vince said. "Had he treated women the way he treated cars, he would have found himself a nice little chica to settle down with for sure."

"Imagine Jesse as a dad," Letty laughed. "He would have been amazing. Would have taught them about cars even before their first birthday and would have had them praying about car parts at the dinner table." Everyone laughed again.

"I just love him," Mia announced, everyone silently agreeing with a nod of his or her head. Leon then pulled the top off the urn and stepped right up to the waters edge, not caring that the water seeped into his new shoes or dampened the bottom of his jeans. Taking in a deep breath, he then tipped the urn upside down, Jesse's ashes falling out. Some fell and spread across the top of the water, while the breeze caught some of them and whipped them about the beach.

With his face contorted in anguish at the onslaught of the tears he'd tried so hard to contain, Leon put the top back on the urn and pulled his arm back. He then hurled the urn out into the ocean, the urn landing meters out to sea with a splash. Letting out a sob as tears streamed down his face, he took tentative steps backwards, stumbling slightly.

"Dom should be here," Letty muttered angrily under her breath. Leon furiously brushed away his tears and turned.

"Well, Dom isn't here," Leon declared, his voice growing louder. "And if he was, he doesn't deserve to be here! He did absolutely _nothing_ to protect Jesse and now look at us. Jesse's dead and we're here picking up the pieces of his stupid mistake while he's off having the time of his life probably street racing and fucking every bitch he can get his hands on!"

Leon then stalked off up the beach, storming past them with tears still running down his face.

"Leon!" Mia called out after him desperately. She wanted nothing more than to put her arms around Leon and give the boy a hug bigger than any he'd ever had before.

"Are we going to Mexico or what?" Leon snapped as he continued walking briskly up the beach.

"Don't worry, he'll get better with time," Vince assured the girls, leaving kisses on their foreheads before they wandered up to the car park, Vince with his arms still around their girls' waists. He let them go up where Leon's Skyline and Letty's 240SX sat and headed over to the passenger door of Leon's car, Leon perched inside with the radio blaring loudly.

"V?" Letty caught Vince's attention. Vince turned and glanced at Letty.

"Yeah?"

"You mind if I ride with Le?"

"Not at all."

The original plan had been that the boys would ride in Leon's car and the girls in Letty's. But Letty had felt a sudden need to ride with Leon, if only for part the way, just to try and get him to talk. And as much as she loved Mia, Letty didn't think she could handle much more of her best friends tears. She needed Vince to try and convince her that everything would be okay.

Grabbing the things she needed to cross the border into Mexico, she met Vince halfway and handed him her keys. Normally she trusted noone else with her car, but for now, she trusted Vince enough to hand her keys over. Vince then gave her a quick hug before he and Mia climbed into the 240SX.

Letting out a deep breath, Letty marched over to Leon's Skyline and climbed in, slamming the door shut and turning down the music.

"You don't mind me riding with you?" she asked Leon, who sat with his wrists draped over the steering wheel.

"Whatever," Leon grunted as he turned his engine on and followed Vince out onto the main road.

* * *

Letty felt someone poking her arm and snapped her eyes open. Leon was nowhere in sight and Vince and Mia were standing outside Leon's car, Vince tapping her awake through the open passenger window. Her surroundings were in complete darkness except for the odd flicker of a street lamp. Across the road from where they were parked outside a Budget Hotel, Letty could make out foamy waves coming in onto the sand. Despite it being very much like what they'd left behind in LA, there was a new air about. It was without the hustle and bustles of busy outer LA and had a very traditional Mexican twist.

"Where's Leon?" Letty asked as she climbed out of the car. Around her everything was still, and the peacefulness of a small town was inviting. To the left of the Budget Hotel was a caravan park where a dog was barking, and slightly up on the hill where the main part of town was situated there was a building that displayed coloured flashing lights, Letty just making out the words on the neon sign. Black Magic. She guessed it was probably just a nightclub.

"Dunno," Vince replied. "He wandered off down the street saying he was hungry. Guess he's gone to look for something to eat."

"This place is pretty dead," Letty pointed out.

"I know, but the guy I was talking to back in TJ said this place really comes alive during the day," Vince said. "You know, busy little Mexican market town. He said this place is great for tourists who are soul searching."

Mia began to giggle and Letty simply raised her eyebrows at Vince's choice of words. "Soul searching?" she repeated in amusement. "That's bullshit."

"The guys words, not mine," Vince defended, raising his hands in a defensive manner.

"We'd better go check in," Mia stated.

"Okay, well, I'll wait here with the cars for Leon," Letty said.

"Okay." Mia and Vince then headed off to the hotel's entrance.

Letty wound up the passenger window then leaned up against Leon's Skyline rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The entire trip to the border she had spoken non-stop over Leon's music trying to get him to open up to her. But he simply remained his moody self, grunting the odd answer when it was completely necessary. Once they'd crossed the border and had stopped in Tijuana for a break, Letty had pretty much given up. When they were back on the main road, she had fallen asleep to pass time, and while asleep, they'd diverted off the main road and had ended up in this small seaside town a few hours outside of Tijuana.

Letty secretly hoped that they'd end up somewhere fast paced and exciting, like Guadalajara or Mexico City, but for now, the pokey little Mexican town would do. Perhaps getting away from everything was what they needed more than a cultural escape to a big city just to push the pain aside.

Trying to transfer her thoughts to something more pleasant, like going commando on the markets just to forget for a moment she was a tomboy who had a bitch reputation to uphold, Vince and Mia reappeared.

"We got conjoined double rooms," Vince explained. "Singles beds, large bathrooms, kitchenettes and ocean views. Plus there are laundries downstairs and an all you can eat restaurant open for breakfast, lunch and dinner."

"Then you'll be right, Coyote," Letty laughed. "How long did you book us in for?"

"Two weeks at the moment," Mia answered. "But the owners said if we want to extend our stay all we have to do is let them know. They don't have the demand for rooms, so they try to keep as many people in them as they can to get as much money as they can."

"Cool," Letty said as she motioned for Vince to hand her back her keys. "Well, lets go on up, cos I don't know about you, but I'm in dire need of a hot shower." Vince and Mia agreed as Letty and Mia went to collect their luggage as Vince collected his and Leon's. As they were about to head into the hotel up to the rooms, Leon reappeared, locking up his car without receiving a word from anyone. He then snatched his bag off Vince and followed them inside.

In the elevator, Vince gave Mia a key to the room they had decided the girls would share and kept the other for he and Leon. Standing outside the door Mia and Vince hesitated slightly before they both opened their door. Stepping in, a fresh sort of smell fell over them. The rooms were quite large and a huge window filled the entire back wall, the pulled back curtains exposing the perfect ocean view. Despite being a Budget Hotel, the rooms were equipped with everything a person could need and were anything but budget.

Patterned quilts adorned the beds, fluffy white towels sitting proudly at the end. Mia went through the kitchenette, finding it fitted out with more than the necessary equipment, and Letty was overjoyed at the prospect of soaking in the spa bath, although she kept her excitement to herself.

Opening the door that joined their room to the boys' room, Letty laughed at the sight of Vince already sprawled out on the bed watching television completely at home amongst his new surroundings. Leon sat outside on the balcony with a beer and Mia stopped examining the room to join Vince on the bed, fighting him for the TV remote.

"Ah, home sweet home," Letty laughed to herself as she pinned back the curtains in her room and opened the window, letting a light Mexican breeze into the room. Scrounging through her bag for her pyjamas and toiletries, she gathered them up as well as the towel on that sat on the bed she'd chosen and glanced back one more time at Vince, Mia and Leon before disappearing into the bathroom with a strange sort of feeling in the pit of her stomach.

It was just a feeling, but somewhere deep inside she just knew that things would eventually turn out okay.


	2. Black Rose

Hey there, my name is Drake and I will be introducing an original character in this chapter. I'd like to thank everybody for their glowing reviews and encourage any critique on my work that anybody can give. I'll have to put a warning in place that this chapter deals with some slightly nasty issues, but I assure you that it all comes with a purpose. Thank you :)

The Black Rose

Raissa stared suspiciously toward her kitchen table, mentally kicking herself for what she was about to do. A pink silk box rested against the hard wooden surface, a small tribal booklet lying to its left. In the centre of the arrangement stood a hand-painted china cup, twisted upside down and supported by its matching saucer. Two lavender incense sticks burned silently to themselves, a large violet dreamcatcher swinging from the ceiling as a cool midday breeze swept through the lonely caravan and blew against the beautiful eagle feathers of the Indian sleeping device.

Leaning forward, she straightened the black lace tablecloth as she sighed heavily to herself, dark brown eyes narrowing in an expectant manner. Reaching shakily toward the handle of the cup, the reflection of her Gypsy emerald ring caught in the Mexican sunshine and detracted her stare quickly toward her dark Roman hands. Now remembering the tales that her Grandmother would tell, one particular story crept into the front of her mind and coaxed the genuine smile that graced her bare lips.

Allowing her mind to travel back in time, she embraced her earliest childhood memory and willed for the sequence to play continuously throughout her head as she reminisced of the good old days. Remembering the warmth of her Abuela and the teasing scent of the home-made cookies that drifted up from her Spanish shawl, she heard that familiar stern tone echoing out into the afternoon.

"Raissa, you have the hands of a psychic. See how your fingers are long and slender? They form the shape of a leaf; linking you to all of nature and the secrets that she holds within her world."

Opening her eyes once more, she wiped away the track of sentimental tears that lined her mascara-stained cheeks. The ring had been an ancient family heirloom and was passed down to Raissa after her Grandmother had moved onto the spirit realm. She had inherited everything, but this was the first time that she had dared to tamper with the mystical equipment since she was a child. The inspiration that she had needed came from the vision she had dreamt of the night before last.

Her Grandmother had come to her during her sleeping hours and urged the young woman to consult the tea leaves, warning that a great change was about to commence. Raissa was a believer in every sense of the word and she had no reason to doubt anything that her Abuela had taught her. Whilst she didn't fear the messengers themselves, she feared the news that the spirits may bring. God had not shined on her in recent years and she didn't know how much more misfortune she could take. She had made a promise to herself to simply ignore the warning signs. That way, she could live her life in peace and not have to worry of the obstacles blocking her path. But here she was, breaking all of that for the sake of taking a sneaky peek into the future. She always had said that curiosity would kill the cat. She just hoped that it wasn't literal.

Breathing in deeply and allowing her chest to expand as a large sigh exited her lungs, she took the handle between her thumb and finger and turned the china over into her palm. Peering nervously into the interior of the cup, she noted the large mass of leaves that had formed in the bottom and the sparse patterns of dots surrounding the rim and the handle. The cup was varied and a small bunk of leaves seemed to fall over the star sign of Scorpio, which was unusual for her as her birthday was in May.

Taking a biro pen from the windowsill and inspecting the symbols more carefully, she found that the same sign seemed to be apparent throughout the reading, shortly followed by identical initial marks. Twisting several silky strands of dark brown hair into a loose bun and securing the style in place with a crimson bandanna, she tapped her perfectly manicured nails against the notch of her chin as she mumbled a series of inaudible Spanish ramblings to herself. With a trademark narrowing of her eyes, she gasped with realisation as she reached quickly toward the small tribal booklet that held the key to her message. Flicking through its worn-down, tissue paper pages, her hand shot involuntarily toward her mouth as the shock that shook her petite frame failed to conceal itself. A proud grin crept across her dimpled cheeks as she noted that her predictions were indeed correct and thus, she continued to read the printed text aloud.

"The swan; both graceful and beautiful, this creature symbolises love and enduring marriage," she managed, closing the book with a start as a flaw crossed her excitable demeanour, "In context to my life, that's like a good two-week fling at the very least. But the initial V. I don't know anybody whose name begins with V."

A sudden shrill ringing noise caused the young Gypsy to jump, the booklet dropping to the ground as her body jarred with nervousness. Laughing to herself about how worked up she had become, she reached toward her cell, flicking the mobile open and checking her caller ID.

"Raissa, you had better get yer Espanic arse into work now, or else Tony is gonna have fucking kittens, I mean it."

"Shit, Greta," she apologised, more than a little amused by her best friend's blunt manner, "I forgot that I was meant to be covering Lucy. I'll be there in ten, I promise."

"It's not me you need to promise to like," spoke the thick Irish accent greeting the other end of the line, "I think he's having an Aneurysm!"

"Ten, no sweat."

She quickly shut the phone, bending down to pick up her book and placing it neatly back upon the tabletop as she searched for her favourite jacket. She didn't want to damage any of her Abuela's old readings, being that they were so precious and delicate. Deciding that she'd clear up later, she slipped her feet into her trusty black flip-flops as she fiddled with the clasp of the colourful charm bracelet that she wore around her left ankle. Pushing out the creases of her cut-off denim mini, she adjusted her white singlet and tucked her crucifix necklace neatly between her breasts. Securing her large hoop earrings and pulling down her hair, she grabbed her bag from the back of the chair, figuring that it was probably too hot for a jacket anyway and slipping into the afternoon heat.

**……………………**

She skipped along the road with her vibration-proof earphones held securely into her ears. Music was her life and the very reason that she ended up in Mexico at all. She had been promised a position as an entertainer at a respectable club, but as she had found, that job turned out to be an exotic dancer who only used her lungs to purr teasingly toward the regulars. She spent every free day working on her lyrics and strumming along to her acoustic guitar. It was true that she didn't have an eight-octave voice, but she could play, and more importantly, her love for writing shone through in every word she uttered. Laced with enough emotion, she could have gone far. But those dreams were more like distant memories now, and whilst she could mourn for their loss, she could instead spend her days dancing away the pain in her heart. A small consolation for a young woman lacking the strength to finally move on, but a comfort none-the-less.

Deciding that she had spent a large enough portion of the day embellishing her Father's Spanish roots, she chose to let her music reflect the French blood that her Mother had pumped into her veins. She was fluent in both languages, but admittedly, it had been a long time since she had used the latter. Hitting the repeat button as she jogged toward her place of work, she allowed the mysterious European beat to pulse into her ears, her rough accent piercing into the Mexican streets.

_C'est pas ma faute  
Et quand je donne ma langue aux chats  
Je vois les autres  
Tout prêts à se jeter sur moi  
C'est pas ma faute à moi  
Si j'entends tout autour de moi  
Hello, helli, t'es A  
Moi Lolita_

Bursting through the doors of the understated establishment, she was greeted by a fuming Tony, who was screaming blue murder. The large quick-tempered American was firing a line of random insults in her direction as she made off toward the back, quickly followed by their over-dramatic boss.

"I'm sorry," she apologised again, rooting through a large pile of stage costumes, "What more would you like me to say?"

Wiping a field of renegade sweat beads away from his forehead, he allowed the perspiration to melt onto his fingers and drop to the ground with a light thud. He had to be at least 25lb overweight, his black business suit graced by a neat white shirt that buttoned all the way up to his bulging neck. His anger was evident by the fire in his eyes and his black stare spoke volumes as she continued to go about her business and ignore the death glare he was sending her.

"Raissa, I swear to God," he threatened, his finger jabbing toward her in a dagger-like manner, "If you let me down one more time, then I _will _dock your pay by twenty percent. And don't think that doesn't include tips," he added before she could protest.

"Well then maybe tell Lucy to start picking up her slack cause I do have a life to lead, ya know?"

He turned his monstrous back on her, pushing the beaded curtain that separated the dressing rooms back viscously as he disappeared away into the bar. She knew that he was serious because he had used her full name. Most people called her Izzy, simply because it was easier to pronounce and sounded more conventional. She loved her name, but she didn't mind the abbreviation either and happily went along with the flow. She was the type of girl who lacked the enthusiasm to change anything that she didn't like. She would wait until it boiled her blood so badly that she snapped and made it a thousand times worse. She knew her flaws, but she was unwilling to do anything about them. After all, aren't our imperfections the things that make us human?

Glancing almost ashamedly into the mirror, she allowed her denim skirt to drop to her ankles, stepping carefully out of it and into a pair of black French knickers. Pulling her vest over her shoulders, her long dark hair fell down to the middle of her back, curled around the edges in a typical Gypsy fashion. Her brown locks twisted at the ends and had a healthy glow that few could boast. Her appearance was the one thing about her life that she could actually control, and therefore, she took great care of it. Pulling a black corset around her slender waist, she wandered into the dressing room beside her, kneeling down as another girl tied the straps at the back.

Thanking her, she found herself lost in her own reflection once more, emptying the contents of her bag out onto the table in front of her and grabbing several sticks of make-up. She added a thick layer of dark eyeliner to her inviting brown stare, large eyes being draped with several coverings of smoky shadow and a fresh coating of the complimenting mascara. She rubbed a healthy helping of liquid foundation into her tan skin, grabbing a lip pencil and working her way around the outset of her pout. She had a striking bone structure, and whilst not conventionally beautiful, she had a certain mystical appeal. Going for a frosted shade of gloss, she finished up on her face, rubbing a light coating of oil into her thighs and arms. Slouching back into her seat, she stared ever deeper into the looking glass, unsure of whether she loved or hated the person staring back at her. She was twenty-three years old, but still hadn't found her calling. She was beginning to wonder whether or not that was the causing of her own stubborn streak.

Taking her cross in her hand, she shut her eyes in a solemn manner, reciting a short prayer to herself as she fed off of the energy in the room. Tucking the crucifix back into her bra, she reached over toward the mirror, grabbing the worn-out photograph that was stuck to the bottom right-hand corner. Wiping her thumb over it, she remembered her Grandmother once more, making a special note to go to confession and seek forgiveness for dishonouring their family name. Finally, working her quick tongue over the small pink piercing that worked through its middle, she let out a deep sigh, mentally psyching herself up for a hard night's work.

**……………………**

Slipping back into the club, the stench of stale sweat and torrid sin thrust themselves upon her senses, Raissa choking back the need to vomit as she stared toward her large customer base. The smell never hit her immediately, it always took a little while to really get up her nose. Half of her suspected that it was a psychological reaction, but then she never was big on that kind of subject.

The club was generally grotty, a few stray strips of harsh sunlight permeating the blacked-out windows and adding even more of a dingy aura to the building. The bar lined the left, several younger girls cleaning down the mahogany surface with filthy rags, health and safety failing to cause an issue with the resilient Tony. Three shelves of bottlenecks were hung proudly against the off-white background, a final line of the more exquisite ales being stood on their tops and proving much more expensive than their average customer would go for. Three red-faced first-timers lined the crimson bar stools that sat before the counter, several pumps and bowls of peanuts set out for all to enjoy as they, too, gazed the dancing area.

A main stage was constructed against the back wall, coming off from both sides and then extending into one long strip that went out into the crowd of dirty tables. A single silver pole marked the end of the platform and two caged podiums rested on either end. Speakers were plugged into every corner of the room and a thick cloud of cigarette smoke lined the unhealthy atmosphere. In short, the place was a tip, but nobody seemed to mind this as cleanliness was the furthest thing from your mind whenever you stepped into Black Magic.

As Raissa sauntered out into the audience, a familiar beat pumped energetically from the sound system, the unspoken cue for the commencement of her act. Her prose was almost animalistic, back arched and hips thrust firmly forward as all eyes rested upon her erogenous zones. Dark stiletto heels graced her small feet, giving her stride a more sexual edge as she stalked toward the stage, the tribal tattoos on the back of her neck glimpsing teasingly from behind her mass of volumised hair.

She raised one leg onto the two-foot high platform, leaning back to allow the curve of her voluptuous hips to take effect on the masses as two security guards approached, helping her up in a chivalrous manner before reasserting their position at the door. The track that was playing had a heavy hip-hop beat, Raissa recognising it as Oh by Ciara and Ludicris.

Slipping her fingers onto the edge of her panties, she pulled them down ever so slightly, giving a clear view of her accentuated pelvic bones as she swung her hips to the bass. Extending her arm into the air and allowing her other hand to slowly work its way down, she moaned lightly as her body dropped lower to the ground. With her knees now bent completely and her weight resting against her thighs, her black stilettos were thrust into the stage, keeping her balanced as she steadily made her way back up.

Allowing her frame to dance around the pole, she reached one hand up toward the top, supporting her weight as she swung around by her thighs. Her head was pushed back and her dark hair dangled freely as she gazed at the upside down form of the men clapping her on, some going as far as to stuff dollar notes into her corset. Gyrating back down and stalking up to the very edge of the platform, she bent in to pull the closest person she could get, onto the stage, shimmying down his body as he teasingly untied the back of her top.

Moving out so that the strings could fall loose, she peeled it away from her body, ensuring that the money land at her feet as she threw it into the crowd, finishing completely topless as the last chord of the joint echoed out into the room. Receiving several elated cries of enjoyment and two marriage proposals, her friends on the door helped her back down again, one covering her bare shoulders with a shawl as the other collected her tips. Talk about a way to earn a living.

**……………………**

Cupping her palms full of icy water, she threw the refreshment up to her stinging eyes, allowing the frost to calm her shame as she pressed a delicate kiss into her crucifix necklace, swearing that she would stop getting so emotionally involved in the dances. Whenever she had something on her mind, it reflected in her act; the stress of the day oozing from every pore as she let her spirituality mask her ability to perform. She wasn't ashamed of what she did to get by, after all she sold her body and left her soul intact. But when she couldn't even claim her focus to do such a thing as dance, then she knew that she had a serious problem.

"I'm the biggest contradiction alive," she groaned, dabbing her face down with a warm towel.

"Don't say that," reassured one of the guards, not realising that she was talking to herself more than she was him, "You did good tonight."

"Well good isn't good enough for me," she smirked, squeezing his shoulder thankfully as she rose to find Tony, "I take it I missed Greta then?"

"Afraid so," he apologised, checking his watch as the end of his break approached, "But don't worry about that, you have bigger fish to fry."

"True," she started, her train of thought interrupted as Tony breezed into the back with a bagel in his grip and a series of small coffee stains gracing his tie. His stare was purposeful and it seemed that he still hadn't calmed from her late arrival earlier.

"Some guy's asking after a lap-dancer," he explained, avoiding her eyes as his tone became more pleading, "He only has twenty-five, but I told him that I thought I could get a girl, you up for that?"

"Hey, who am I to put a price on a hard-on?" she joked weakly, swallowing her pride and slipping into a triangular bikini top. Grabbing her straighteners from where they were charging on the counter, she ran them easily through her hair, smoothing the dark locks and leaving a silky appeal. Pulling the strips up to the top of her head, she secured them with a tight band, a few loose tendrils falling free and giving her a raw appeal. "Point me in his direction."

**……………………**

Running her fingers across the surface of her lips, she pulled her sculptured stomach even tighter as she approached the man in question, leaning over his seat and rubbing her oily hands against the back of his neck as she whispered, "Hey there," in a smoulderingly coarse tone. She could physically feel the line of goose bumps shoot up on his light skin as his blonde hair persisted to stand on end, obviously his first time at such an establishment.

"Well..." he started, turning to face her but having his jaw suddenly poke out in shock as he took in her appearance.

"What's wrong baby?" she purred, leaning over him once more as he pushed her arms away from him, rising to make a scene. Standing with chest pushed out confidently, he pointed toward her midriff as his eyes darted over to where Tony was seated at the bar, coming on to a young teenage girl who looked to be revolted by his antics.

"Ya know," he spat, almost as if his words were physically bitter, "If I'd have wanted a Spade, then I would have asked for one."

Raissa's mouth fell open in disbelief, her hand involuntarily moving up to her cross and cradling it into her palm with a shocked urgency. She tried to devise a witty come back, but her mind seemed to draw a blank, getting caught in the moment and allowing her eyes to drop ashamedly to the floor as he continued with his racist rant.

"This fucking Lolita is probably carrying more diseases than a common rat!"

Upon hearing the last statement, her fist jumped into action, spurring out and punching him square in the jaw as he was thrust over the table; sending shards of sharp glass everywhere as mass panic broke out at Black Magic. Several customers made a dash for the door, some looking to escape the violence but others just hoping to get away with not paying their bar bills.

The bouncers ran for the two, but as the crowd surged toward them, they were pushed back, getting caught in the mass of sweaty bodies vainly trying to cram out of the exit amidst all of the chaos. As the man that Raissa had fought with rose, she noticed the cut upon his lip, his eyes burning a deep crimson as he spat out a stream of blood, clenching his fists menacingly.

Never one to be intimidated by a man, Raissa dived toward him, being caught halfway by a furious Tony, who practically wrestled her to the ground whilst reading her the riot act. He pinned her arms behind her back whilst she squirmed beneath his grip, wriggling to get free and shouting vindictive threats in the direction of the guy that she had flawed. She could feel the anger bursting through her veins, shoving her heart into overdrive as a sequence of very gut-wrenching memories came flashing back into her head at what felt like light speed.

"Why are you taking his side?" she screamed, the man in question now being dragged outside by the bouncers.

"The customer is always right!" he yelled, finally letting her go as she rose indignantly, wiping down her underwear and pulling her hair away from her eyes.

"Tell me something Tony, have you ever seen your Pappy getting spat at in the street for having slightly darker skin than everybody else?"

"Well no..." he started, uncertain of how to proceed with her from here, she was always impossible after she had jumped on her high horse.

"Of course not, cause you're white," she spat, pulling her dark stilettos away from her aching feet, "And I'm telling you now, I will not work for a boss who allows me to take that kinda crap."

"Are you quitting?" he questioned incredulously, "What about your contract?"

"I'll work till the end of the week, then I'm out. I guess I really am done with this place. Like my Abuela told me, it's time for a change..."


End file.
